Ed Orgeron no doubt remembered the fourth-down call that didn’t work, the turnover on downs that sealed his fate as the coach at Mississippi six years ago. Andre Heidari had in the back of his mind, well, any number of kicks that have sailed wide this year, most recently a first-quarter wide-right extra point.

Football is a weird game. Decisions are made, rituals are repeated and sometimes they work. That’s how Orgeron and Heidari ended up in a sea of happy humanity Saturday night after unranked USC pulled out a massive 20-17 victory over No. 5 Stanford in front of a sellout crowd of 93,607 at the Coliseum.

Heidari, whose job has been in jeopardy twice in the past month because of his struggles, hit a 47-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining as the Trojans broke a four-game losing streak to Stanford.

“For some reason, there was a belief on Monday that we were going to win this game,” Orgeron said.

Orgeron, his hair mussed and his shirt stained with who-knows-what — energy drink, sweat, lipstick or all of the above — emerged as a hero. Since taking over for Lane Kiffin, Orgeron has won five of six games. As absurd as it sounded two months ago, USC is not out of contention to make the Rose Bowl.

Who would have guessed that Heidari, regularly first in the USC whipping-boy line, would be the hero?

Heidari nailed the winning kick — his longest since August — then ran toward the opposite end zone as teammates gave chase. If they doubted him, after his earlier extra-point miss, after his missed 46-yarder last week against Cal, after his two misses in a four-point loss to Notre Dame, they put on brave faces.

“Guys came up to me and said, ‘We know you’ve got this. We know you do it every day in practice,’” Heidari said. “It’s a regular kick. I run onto the field, line it up and find my target.”

If that sounds like bluster, consider that most kickers don’t weigh 200-plus pounds. Heidari, a gritty Bakersfield native, is in his third year as USC’s kicker. He wasn’t scared.

That put him in direct contrast with a Coliseum full of fret, one that had been through an emotional journey for the better part of the previous half-hour. Or, really, the previous three-plus hours.

The Trojans (8-3, 5-2 Pac-12) took a 17-7 second-quarter lead thanks to some stellar play from quarterback Cody Kessler, then watched it erode. Stanford made a short field goal at the end of the first half, then tied the score, 17-17, on Tyler Gaffney’s 18-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter.

By the fourth quarter, USC’s defense, which used almost no substitutions, was gassed but was able to come up with two huge plays and set the stage for one massive coaching decision.

Stanford drove to the USC 10, but safety Dion Bailey intercepted Stanford’s Kevin Hogan to keep the game tied with 10:39 left. After two USC failed possessions, Stanford’s offense got to midfield with just more than three minutes left when USC safety Su’a Cravens intercepted a tipped pass at the USC 44.

That left USC’s offense, which had stagnated in the second half, one more chance. On third-and-11, Kessler found Nelson Agholor for a 9-yard reception, which set up fourth-and-2 at the USC 48.

Orgeron had to remember. On Nov. 23, 2007, his Mississippi team led Mississippi State, 14-0, early in the fourth quarter and faced fourth-and-1 at its own 49. Orgeron decided to go for it instead of punting, and the Rebels lost 3 yards, turned over the ball on downs and went on to lose, 17-14.

Orgeron was fired weeks later and still points to that one choice as an “emotional decision” that cost him his job. So, six years later, in a slightly different situation, what did Orgeron do? He went for it.

“I knew I was taking a chance,” Orgeron said, “but I looked into the guys’ eyes and I knew they wanted the chance to win the game.”

USC went for it, even with a receiver, Marqise Lee, who was limping on the field after being injured three plays later. Kessler said offensive coordinator Clay Helton called a play that wasn’t even on the quarterback’s wristband, a quick slant to Lee, who, presumably, could still run.

“I looked at (Lee) in the huddle and I said, ‘Are you all right?’” Kessler said. “He said, ‘One more play. I’ve got one more play in me.’”

Kessler and Lee connected on a 13-yard slant pass that got the ball to the Stanford 35. Two plays later, Kessler found Agholor for 11 yards, and minutes later, Heidari was the hero.

Orgeron, at this point, would probably replace Max Nikias as USC’s president in a popular vote of students and alums. If the Trojans should win their last two games, Orgeron will make it exceedingly difficult for Athletic Director Pat Haden not to name him as Kiffin’s full-time replacement.

And while Orgeron, a gruff line coach, has persistently deflected praise to his players and assistant coaches, he couldn’t hide his emotions from his players.

“He probably doesn’t want me to say this,” Kessler said, “but when I went to give him a hug after the game, his eyes were watering.”

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.

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